the pits
by Nonny21
Summary: squeal to deadly nightshade, our trio of friends has faced the Largos and lived to tell the tale.  But there is some one else out there,cunning, sneaky, and dnagrous.  Can they save themselves when all they have is one clue "isn't it just the pits?"
1. new lives

Dear reader,

this story is the squeal to deadly night shade...yippee. My self and my partner in crime Sailor Onyx Pluto will be working to gather and posting new chapters regularly. Please visit Sailor Onyx Pluto's profile and read her other works! As always we would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

…. …. …. …. …. …. …. …. ….

By the light of day the city glistened with a new life. Lissy smiled to her self at the progress Shilo had made. People were no longer afraid to walk down the streets, children ran freely in the street, no longer afraid of the big bad repo man.

Unfortunately graverobbers still haunted back allies with customers aplenty, but not her graverobber. Terrance now behaved as a respectable business man. A chuckle built up in her chest thinking of him in his business suit. He had refused to cut his hair, a fact witch annoyed Shilo to no end. Instead he washed it regularly (still failing to get the faded dies out), brushed it dutifully, and pulled it back.

But the night still held terror for her, in the shadows lurked killers. Not even her status or new found fame could keep her safe. A chill ran up her spine as she turned her key in the door to the opera house. Terrance had mover her into an set of rooms on the upper floors, next door to his own.

"howdy neighbor!" she called to Terrance who was doing something technical in the ticket booth.

"how was lunch?" he asked. She and Shilo had enjoyed a beautiful lunch at a new cafe' in town.

"wonderful...you'll have to join us next time." she put her bags on the counter and joined him in the booth.

"or maybe you will let me take you out?"

"don't push your luck. What are you doing in here?" she pushed him with her hip.

"nothing much...murdering the computer. I was trying to put in the new ticket prices for your next show but it is teasing me." he made a face with his tong stuck out to the side.

"why don't you go do something more manly...like fix the red curtain; while I do the technical stuff?"

"bossy." he grumbled. She swatted at his but as he left the booth.

"you know you love it..." she teased.

"your right," he confessed grinning. "i love every thing about you." Terrance was surprised to find the transition from a drug peddling graverobber to business man had been an easy one. His new name fit him well, and the sound of it on Lissy's lips made his heart flutter...some thing it had never done before. He made is hands useful by fixing things in his theater, and occupied his mind with the problems set to him by shilo.

Shilo had been a wonderful help in his transformation. She signed over the deed to his beloved opera house with out asking why he wanted it so badly. She had befriended Lissy and helped her ease back into normal society. What a friend and asset the kid turned out to be.

"are you talking to your self?" Lissy asked. She settled in a seat in the front row to watch him work.

"i thought you were fixing the computer." he grumbled.

"it may take you eons to do any thing on the computer but not every one is as...special, as you." she gloated. He turned his back to her and continued to fiddle with the curtain, even thou he had no idea how to fix it. "give up Terrance, I'll call the guy in the morning."

"it is my theater I don't need you to call any one." he snapped. She didn't flinch. "sorry." he conceded. "you can call in the morning. I need to get to bed."

"well in that case good night sweet prince." she gave him a soft sweet smile before getting up and heading to her own quarters.

…. …. …. …. …. …. …. ….

Shilo was sitting in her newly renovated office inside GeneCo tower, pouring through endless amounts of paperwork that she had to pick up on after the Largos were all killed off. She had completely revamped the workspace, getting rid of Amber's leftovers and importing her own dark gothic style of black and dark colors. It wasn't as impressive but ironically, appeared more welcoming to the employees that were still there.

"Shit. What have I gotten myself into?" Shilo said to herself exasperated, rubbing her strained eyes and stretching. She glanced over at the picture of her smiling parents, the only one she had left, sitting on the black walnut desk and quickly reminded herself that they were the reason why she'd done this. The first thing she'd done was severely cut back the ranks of the Repo men, but kept the organ repossession policy, only greatly modified. She was putting the finishing touches on that particular bill when she realized it was time for a break. She hadn't eaten since lunch with Lissy and her stomach rumbled.

"I've gotta get out of here for a while," she rearranged her papers so that they were organized for later, grabbed her messenger bag, and told her secretary that she was going out for a few hours.

"Yes, Miss Wallace," the young-looking GENtern replied. Shilo made a mental note to train future GENterns to not be so robotic. She was about to enter the hallway when she turned around and said,

"Trinity, go ahead and go home. You've been here late enough tonight." The black-haired woman was about to protest, but the new CEO held up a hand to silence her. "It's okay. Just make sure to lock the door when you go. I've got my keys if I need to get back in."

"Th-thank you, Miss Wallace," Trinity stammered, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Shilo, Trinity. My name is Shilo." Without waiting for a reply, but just giving a smile, Shilo walked down the long, empty hallway to the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. As the car rode down, she made up her mind to go visit Terrance and Lissy at the opera theatre, hoping that at least one of them would still be awake.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Shilo called softly as she slowly opened the door to the old building. Terrance had given her a key for the theater so that she could come in whenever she wanted, but she didn't see him or Lissy in the main auditorium, which lead her to believe that they were already in their rooms for the night. The large room was dimly lit, but just enough for her to navigate to the immense stage, but before she went to the backstage area to go upstairs, she suddenly turned and looked out at the empty chairs. She could see the room filled with people and felt herself moving to center stage where she lifted her arms up and began to sing ever so softly,

"I'm… infected."  
>"I'm infected… by your genetics!"<br>"Shilo I'm the doctor! Shilo I'm your father!"  
>"Oh Shilo that was close. Take your medicine." She began to move as if there was an orchestra playing to her song. Her boots echoed off the stage as she continued to sing.<br>"I'm infected… by your genetics. I'm infected… by your genetics. And I don't think that I can be fixed. No, I don't think that I can be fixed. And tell me why oh why are my genetics such a bitch?" She was dancing full force now, completely wrapped up in the performance in her creative imagination. She could see her father sitting in the front row, smiling up at her, along with Terrance and Lissy.  
>"It's this blood condition. Damn this blood condition! Mother can you hear me? Thanks for the disease! Now I am sequestered, a part of the collection. That's what is expected when you are infected."<p>

Unknown to her however, her show had awoken one of the sleeping occupants and he watched her from the wings as she sang her song. 'The kid's good,' he thought; watching her move gracefully like a dancer. 'Makes me wonder why she never pursued a career at the opera.' Terrance chided himself for that thought. That was a no-brainer. Who the hell would've wanted to sing for GeneCo after Blind Mag died? He watched Shilo as she finished her song with her falling to her knees and a few quiet sobs that echoed over the empty seats. Seeing her like that, so vulnerable, so frail, made him feel torn between his feelings for Lissy and for the kid he'd met in the graveyard. Shaking himself out of that internal conflict, he lightly clapped and even chuckled when she snapped up so fast that she almost fell had he not zipped out to catch her in time.

"Hi Graves." She said when she realized who it was. The fact that she still called him Graves made him smile. He set her back on her feet and put on his famous smirk.

"Hey kid. What brings you here so late?"


	2. learn to be lonely

Lissy sat on the balcony, deep in the shadows and watched Terrance and Shilo. She couldn't hear what they were saying, Terrance probably thought she was still asleep. Shilo let out a little laugh...Terrance knew how to make any girl laugh.

Lissy turned her back on her friends, not even considering joining them in their fun. She made her way slowly down the hall toward the beautiful room Terrance had set up for her. She hummed softly to herself, breaking into song as she moved away from Shilo and Terrance.

"*child of the wilderness, born into emptiness...learn to be lonely. Learn to find your way in darkness." she turned the knob to her room. "who will be there for you? Comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely, learn to be your one companion." she walked past the ornate wrought iron bed Terrance had picked epically for her, with sheer gossamer curtains and silk sheets. He had planned on sharing that bed with her, she knew it.

"never dreamed out in the world there are arms to hold you, you've always known your heart was on it's own." she stepped out onto her balcony over looking the city. "so laugh in your loneliness, child of the wilderness. Learn to be lonely, learn to love life that is lived alone." Lissy leaned over the rail. Head rested on her folded arms. "learn to be lonely; life can be lived, life can be loved...alone!"

… … … … … … … … …

Shilo laughed lightly at Terrance calling her "Kid," probably since she still  
>called him "Graves." She was unaware of Lissy watching them as she told him of<br>her day.

"I needed to get out of that damned stuffy office for a while and figured I'd  
>come see if you guys were still awake." She blushed, which made her pale skin<br>look scarlet and looked down at her boots. "I guess I got sidetracked." He put  
>a gentle hand under her chin and lifted her head to look her in the eye.<p>

"You're good, kid, almost as good as Mag. I'm surprised that you didn't try  
>to land a career in singing," he took his hand back as she blushed even more,<br>making her face look like a tomato. He laughed out loud and said, "Sorry, kid.  
>Didn't mean to embarrass you." Shilo waved it off and laughed with him.<p>

"You're about the only one that can make me blush like that…" she then  
>covered her mouth in slight shock at what she just said, but it didn't seem to<br>bother him in the least, so she let it go. Anyway, I wanted to see if you and  
>Lissy might wanna go get a cup of coffee or something. I need to re-think some<br>of GeneCo's policies and being cramped up in my office all day wasn't  
>helping."<p>

Terrance considered turning down her offer because he needed to get some sleep  
>and his mind had been occupied with Lissy all day, but on the other hand, he<br>was already awake and probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway.

"Alright, Kid. Just give me a minute and I'll be right back." He disappeared  
>back up the stairs and into his room to throw on his trusty graverobbing<br>boots, a long-sleeve shirt and jacket. Pausing outside his room after shutting  
>the door, he knocked at Lissy's, but there was no answer, so he just figured<br>she was already passed out cold. He went back down to Shilo and bowed  
>dramatically from the waist in his old style and he saw her smirk and roll her<br>large brown eyes at him. "Shall we go, my dear?" he joked while offering her  
>his arm. She laughed at him, linked her arm through his and they walked out of<br>the theater, locking the door behind them, and walked down the street to a  
>late-night coffee shop.<p>

*Learn To Be Lonely - Minnie Driver


	3. Coffee

Lissy heard the knock at her door, she knew it was Terrance. Lissy figured he was headed to bed for the night after having sent Shilo on her way. The last thing she needed right now was temptation. He'd be standing there with his beautiful girn, ready to spout sonnets or break into song. She knew if she opened that door she'd jump into his arms and never move again.

With a heavy sigh Lissy ignored him and continued to stair out into the night. Tomorrow she'd be up on stage singing in front of hundreds of avid fans. This had been her dream, at one point she would have been in heaven living this life. But with Terrance...Graverobber she corrected her self...right next door this life seemed empty.

She hated calling him Terrance. He let Shilo get away with it. He even gave her all his smiles. He touched her freely. Lissy wanted to feel those strong calloused hands on her face. As much as he pretended everything was the same, it was a lie. She didn't know who she was any more. All of her frames and thrift store treasures were pack away in the old prop closet. Her fame afforded her the best in life... when all she wanted was to go prowling through the dusty shelves without being hounded for autographs.

She could no longer identify with the name Lissy... but she didn't feel like Shade any more either. 'Terrance' was fine with the change, and Shilo was an amazing CEO. Lissy couldn't seem to get used to life with people around, around but not close.

She watched Shilo walk out into the street, she turned and held out a hand... and Terrance took it. He was leaving...again. "good night sweet prince." she whispered once more before closing her window and falling into bed.

…. …. …. …. …. …. ….

Siren's was a 24/7 coffee house (expect on the major holidays), which Shilo was grateful for whenever she needed a break from the office to let her mind rework itself. Hand-in-hand with Terrance, they walked in together and up to the counter to order their drinks. She got a coffee with vanilla and caramel while he got a stronger black coffee then the pair took a seat at one of the tables at the window. Shilo always enjoyed watching the world from her bedroom window and it had become a regular pastime for her when she wasn't working. She took a sip from her hot drink and let it seep into her system as the caffeine worked its magic on her tired mind. Turning back from the window, she saw that Terrance was watching her with a kind of intensity that she'd never seen from him before, except when he was looking at Lissy.

"Terrance? Terrance, you awake in there?" She never called him Graves or Graverobber in public, just on the off chance that he might run into one of his old customers. He shook himself out of his trance and took a sip of his strong coffee.  
>"Yeah Kid. I'm awake now, thanks to you dragging me out in the middle of the night," he grinned at her as he took another drink. "Actually, if I recall correctly, I did the same to you not too long ago, now didn't I?" Shilo smiled back at him as he brought up their past encounters that had inextricably tied them together. Of course, it was nothing like what had happened between him and Lissy. Speaking of which…<p>

"How's Lissy doing? I haven't seen her since we had lunch together earlier today." The mention of the new singer took the smile off his face and Shilo immediately regretted bringing her up. He was suddenly very interested in his hands.

"She's fine…" he trailed off. Shilo raised an eyebrow at him. He never lied to her, except when he had been a dealer and even then, he was at least somewhat straightforward with her. She reached across the table, took his hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Graves," she said in a whisper so that only he would hear. His head snapped up. "What's wrong? You've never hidden anything from me, so why are you doing it now?" He sighed heavily and looked out the window at the few people walking the streets so late at night. Their movements were almost hypnotizing and he became momentarily lost in their steps. "Graves?" Shilo whispered again and he turned to look at her.

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Kid. I'm just not in the mood to talk about it." He took a sip and smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll tell you another day." She didn't seem convinced, but didn't press the issue further like she used to. They sat in companionable silence for a while as they finished their coffee, and then Shilo stood up to throw her cup away and said,

"I think my mind's finally back where I need it to be, so I should get back to the office." Terrance tossed out his empty cup too and held out a hand for her to take, which she did.

"Since I probably won't be able to go back to sleep now, I'll walk you back to work." She smiled at him and they walked out of the coffeehouse.


	4. deadly treat

Lissy stepped back stage, her chest heaving. Her cheeks were flushed, sweat poured from her brow, and she was smiling. There is nothing in the world like preforming, she imagined not even the glow was more addictive. She could live off the energy and applause alone. Mary, her personal assistant handed her a towel and a bottled water.  
>"how do you do it?" the older woman exclaimed. Lissy just shrugged. this was the high but she knew the low was coming. Waiting for her in her dressing room was a beautiful vase filled with decadent long stemmed roses...she knew who had sent them before she checked the card.<p>

~*Why do people give each other flowers to celebrate various important occasions, they're killing living creatures? Why restrict it to plants? "Sweetheart, let's make up. Have this deceased squirrel." ~ your Graverobber

Mary picked something up off the dressing table. "someone is spoiling you!" she gasped holding out a box of sinful decadent chocolates. "this box of chocolate cost more than I make in a week."  
>Lissy looked at the box for a moment before turning back to Terrance's card. "you can have them." she said absent absentmindedly.<br>"i couldn't!"  
>"I'm never going to eat them... I have like five other boxes in my room. Please, take the chocolate, you can have the rest of the day off. Go enjoy yourself." Lissy told her sliding out of the ridiculously embellished gown she had been wearing on stage. Mary clutched the box the her chest, thanked Lissy and left the room.<br>Then came the lowest of the low. Alone in her dressing room while the crowed whooped and cheered on their way to glamorous after parties. Terrance would be standing at the exit with the extravagant Shilo at his side, wishing the uppermost citizens in the city a good night.  
>Together Terrance and Shilo would go to one of those parties. Maybe at the mayors house, or perhaps Shilo would invite them all to lobby of GENco for drinking and dancing. Of course Lissy knew she was always invited to join them...only to be coerced into singing for everyone's entertainment. She would rather sit alone in her room.<br>Not tonight, she slipped on a pair of comfy pants, flip flops, and a hooded shirt. Lissy wanted to go out, but not to the playground of the rich and famous. She moved swiftly down darkened back hallways and out the back door, careful not to be seen.  
>The sun had not gone completely down, the street lamps had not been lit. the thick polluted air of the city assaulted her lungs. She wasn't far enough yet. Just outside the city limits lay a cemetery where she knew she could be alone. These graves were so old the Grave robbers didn't bother with them anymore, so the GENcops didn't patrol. Not that they were any threat to her, she was friends with Shilo.<br>Shady Glenn, her new privet sanctuary!  
>…. …. …. …. …. …. ….<p>

True to form, after the astounding performance Lissy gave, Shilo and Terrance were standing at the exit of the opera house dressed in their eveningwear, saying goodnight to almost every single one of their elegantly dressed guests. His now-faded dyed hair has neatly pulled back and he was decked out in a 1920s black-and-white pinstripe suit that Shilo and Lissy had tailored especially for him. Anyone who knew Shilo's family could've mistaken her for her mother or godmother as she was dressed in a crushed velvet black strapless evening gown that puddle to the floor, and it was completed with a pair of matching gloves to her elbows and patent leather three-inch heels. She kept her hair down, but some of it was braided with small white flowers woven into the braids.

"Miss Shilo! Mr. Terrance! I'd like to thank you both, as well as the extravagant Lissy, for a spectacular show tonight." The mayor of Sanitarium Island, along with his beautiful wife and three children, were once again members of the audience tonight and as always, congratulated them on the performance put on by the best opera singer since Blind Mag. Shilo and Terrance both bowed at his compliments, but they both knew it was all because of Lissy and her beautiful voice.

"Thank you very much for coming, Mr. Mayor," Shilo responded, shaking his and his wife's hand, and smiling at their kids. "We're always glad to see you here and are glad that you enjoyed yourselves." Terrance then shook his hand and said,

"We're hoping that you'll be present at the GeneCo lobby after we're through cleaning up here tonight. Drinks served all night, along with a buffet." At the sound of free food and alcohol, many of the other patrons were chatting excitedly about how the Largos would never do something like this and all the talk was making Shilo blush modestly. Her partner gave her a nudge in the arm and smiled at her. He always thought she was cute when she was embarrassed. That was when Lissy crossed his mind. "Excuse me, but I'll be back out in a moment."

With a nod from Shilo and the mayor's family, he made his way to the backstage area to the dressing rooms. Taking a deep breath and composing himself, he knocked on Lissy's room with the star on the door, but there was no answer.

"Lissy?" he called as he turned the knob, which was unlocked and that was unusual because she always locked the door when she was finished in here. "Lissy?" he called again, but saw that she wasn't there. He didn't think anything of it and closed the door to go look for her in her rooms upstairs. There was always the possibility that she had retired for the night. As he walked through the darkened hallway to the stairs, he almost tripped over something lying across the floor and he bent down to see what it was. Using a lighter, he lit up the object and his jaw almost dropped out of his skull. It was Mary, Lissy's personal assistance, and he knew from his graverobbing years that she was already dead. What astonished him more was that she had an open box of chocolates, the same box of chocolates that he'd given to Lissy, and one of them had a bite taken out of it, but all the others were whole, despite that they were now sprawled on the floor.

Forcing down the lump that had formed in his throat, he checked Mary's pulse and when he found none, he quickly called Shilo through the earpiece communicators that they always wore during the shows in case they needed to take care of something discreetly.

"Hey Kid?" Shilo was still talking to their guests when she heard his voice in her ear and it sounded urgent.

"Excuse me for a moment please." She walked a few feet away so that no one else would hear.

"What's up Graves?"

"We've got a problem here. You better come backstage now," and he cut the link before she could ask him more. Putting her business face back on, she told her guests to proceed to GeneCo where she and Terrance would meet them at a little later, but to enjoy themselves while they were taking care of some unexpected business. As their patrons exited the building, she sprinted as fast as she could to where her partner was and was shell shocked at what she saw. She had seen dead bodies before, but not one this fresh.

"What the hell happened?" she asked Terrance, who was examining the chocolate with the bite taken out of it. She could tell his mind was racing when he picked up the box and something fell out of it onto the corpse's back.

"What's this?" He picked it up and saw that it was a folded piece of paper with one sentence written on it.

"What does it say?" Shilo asked him and he handed it to her with a confused expression. She read it aloud, "Isn't it the pits?" She turned it over but it was blank. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but whoever wrote it also did something to this candy and it was more than likely meant for Lissy."

*The Washington Post


	5. speculation

Shady Glenn cemetery lay abandoned not far out of the city limits, the last body buried there had long ago lost it's flesh and any thing that might have been of value to graverobbers. Here time stood still. Lissy let her hand brush lovingly against the limestone monuments after having scaled the gate that had long ago rusted shut.

Marble sentinels guarded the entrance, they had once been ornate carvings of beautiful angels. A combinations of neglect, time, weather, and vandals had taken their toll. Their once beautiful smiling faces had been chipped and stained until they grimaced in pain. Their once immaculately glistening white robes were stained with paint and mold. The wings that must have been attached to their backs lay in pieces at their feet.

Nestled in the center Lissy found her safe haven, a tiny reflecting pool encircled by stones beneath an ancient oak. The silent occupants welcomed her, she almost felt like Shade again. Or maybe she felt like Lissy, the Lissy she had been before Graverobber. Back when she and Vivian would walk hand in had singing any song that popped int their heads and laughing one another for forgetting the words.

She sat for hours beside her tiny pond singing for an audience of the ghost of friend long past. "*It must have been cold there in my shadow, to never have sunlight on your face. You were content to let me shine, that's your way, you always walked a step behind." as her critically acclaimed voice filled the peaceful cemetery her memories became tangible. Her mother, her father, and even Vivian were there sitting around her.

"So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name - for so long, a beautiful smile to hide the pain." her imaginary family smiled their encouragement. "Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be?  
>I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."<p>

Vivian's ghost held out a translucent hand, here eyes filled with un-shead tears of understanding. "It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it, I would be nothing with out you. Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."

she wanted to stay here forever singing to her friend, feeling the love radiating off the people who weren't really there. She knew there was an explanation for this. stress and exhaustion mixed with pent up emotions were blurring her judgment. Terrance would be worrying, the sun was going down, but she had to stay for just a few minuets more. "Fly, fly, fly away. you let me fly so high.  
>Oh, fly, fly. so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky. Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings."<p>

Not even an hour later, Shilo had called in a special investigation unit of  
>handpicked GeneCops to have them scour the opera house for anything<br>suspicious, but turned up absolutely nothing. The captain gave her his report  
>and she dismissed them for the night, making him promise that they'd call her<br>immediately if they did find something out. The coroner and medical examiner  
>were there as well and made their prognosis: poison, more than likely by<br>cyanide, but they wouldn't know what type and how much until the autopsy. With  
>Shilo's approval, they carefully put the cadaver into a black body bag and<br>wheeled it out on a gurney towards the ambulance that was waiting outside to  
>go to the morgue.<p>

"The unit couldn't find Lissy either, so I'm guessing she's not here."  
>Terrance breathed a sigh of relief as Shilo's report; both were thankful that<br>she wasn't dead, but somebody obviously wanted her that way. Who? A jealous  
>rival, an obsessive fan, a disgruntled GeneCo employee, or even an old Blind<br>Mag fan that thought that Lissy had usurped her memory? Of course, those were  
>only a choice few of a number of possibilities. Terrance was majorly stressed<br>and Shilo was too, but they had to let the proper authorities take care of  
>this for the moment since they had absolutely no clue as to who would attempt<br>this and the note that they left was just as confusing.

"I wonder where she could be, but I'm glad she didn't eat those chocolates,"  
>he ran a hand through his hair and groaned. "I've bought from that company<br>before for you and nothing like this has ever happened, so I doubt it was from  
>them." Shilo nodded in affirmation, but couldn't even begin to think how this<br>could've happened.

"I wonder if…" she thought out loud and her partner looked in her direction  
>as if she could possibly have an idea. "I wonder if there's someone from<br>Rotti's family tree that we didn't off and they want revenge for what happened  
>at the tower." Terrance raised an eyebrow at her, but it very well might've<br>been true. Who really knows the whole history behind the Largos and what they  
>could've done before they came to power? Families like that always had secrets<br>of some sort; it was just when you found out, did you really think it would be  
>like everyone else's skeletons or something much worse?<p>

"It sounds like an awful long shot, Kid, but I suppose it's possible," he  
>gave a short, nervous laugh. "Wouldn't surprise me if vendetta ran in the<br>family. I just hope there's no more chicks like Amber out there. That'd be the  
>worst kind of déjà vu in my life." Shilo had to giggle at that remark in<br>spite of the circumstances. She glanced at the thin, elegant watch on her  
>wrist and sighed.<p>

"Well, I know we have to figure this out, but we also have a party to be at,"  
>she sighed again and glanced at Terrance, who seemed to be dreading the whole<br>idea of socializing now. "I know what you're thinking, but unfortunately now,  
>we have to keep up appearances, especially since almost everyone's telling us<br>were better business owners than the Largos were." The graverobber actually  
>smiled at that thought.<p>

"Touché, Shilo," he offered her his arm and she linked hers through it.  
>"Shall we proceed to mingle with the plastic masses?" She laughed at his<br>realistic humor.

"We shall," and they walked out of the opera house, locking it up for the  
>night, and proceeding to GeneCo tower. <p>


	6. drunk

Lissy's hands were shaking with cold by the time she reached the GenCo building. The party was still raging inside, where she was sure she'd find Terrance and Shilo acting as the gracious hosts. She had lingered to long in the cemetery, spent too much time alone. Her mind was foggy. She stumbled up to the bar.

"Oh my god.' the bartender gushed. "You're Lissy! You never come to the parties...what are you doing here?"

"Can I just get a drink?" she growled. It wasn't like her to be rude to fans.

"Sure any thing you want." the guy grinned. "On the house." As if offering a rich person something for free made a difference.

"Got any brandy? Something old."

"Sure, got 1987, will that do?" he offered.

"It's gonna have to. Do me a favor?"

"Anything..."

"Keep em' coming till I hit the floor. K?" the bantered passed a full tumbler across the bar and excused himself. He was positive it was Lissy standing there, but she wasn't acting like the Lissy he had read about.  
>The man they called Terrance was standing beside the ever-stunning Shilo. Their arms were linked and they shifted toward on another unconsciously. He thought maybe they had a thing...but every one else thought he was in love with Lissy.<p>

"Excuse me, Miss Shilo?" she turned to him, her brows furrowed. She obviously didn't have a clue who he was, not that he'd expect her to.

"Yes?"

"My name is Scott. I'm the bartender tonight..."

"She's not interested kid." Terrance told him.

"Well you see, there is a young lady at my bar, she has just finished off a bottle of brandy by her self."

"I'll call security." Shilo offered.

"Well she looks amazingly like Miss Lissy." Terrance's head shot up, he stood a good five inches taller than most of the crowd. There she was, sitting by herself at the bar, trying to get the lat few drops of liqueur out of the empty bottle.

"Don't say a word of this to anyone... you keep quiet you get a reward. You talk and well, Shilo will call her guard." Scott nodded in agreement as the pair rushed over to the inebriated musician.

"Lissy? Lissy, what are you doing?" Shilo shook the singer's shoulder, trying to get her attention, but it only seemed to aggravate her for some reason.

"What the hell do you want?" she grumbled at the younger woman while trying to flag Scott over for another bottle of brandy. Terrance shook his head in disappointment and stepped up to her.

"You're not doing anymore drinking tonight, Lissy. You're going home and going to bed. Now." He said the last word with a force behind it that even made Shilo's eyes go wide. Never had he sounded like that before, not even when he was dealing with Amber.

"I'm not going anywhere, damn it, so you just go screw off." The drunken singer was starting to slur her words very severely and she tried to swing around on the barstool, but overextended herself and almost ended up on the floor if it hadn't been for her two friends there to catch her. Thankfully, all their party guests were too immersed in themselves or the alcohol, probably the latter, to even notice what was going on.

"I guess she was right. She's not going anywhere." Shilo said. She quickly glanced around then got an idea. "Let's get her up to my office. I've got a spare bed up there for when I work all night and it's a pretty private room. No one will ever know she's there." Without a word, Terrance hoisted the now unconscious Lissy into an easy carrying position while Shilo motioned for some of the GENterns to cover their tracks while they made an exit from the lobby to the elevator. Pushing the button for the top floor, the young CEO voiced her concerns to her partner. "What could've drove her to do this to herself? From what I could tell, she was very happy with everything that was going for her."

"I have a pretty good idea of what's going on with her, Kid and I don't know if it's something you wanna hear right now." Terrance confessed while looking down at the woman in his arms. Shilo raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't inquire further as the elevator stopped and opened on the top floor of the tower.

"This way." The trio moved down the hall to the last door where Shilo unlocked it and led them to another door that opened to reveal a fairly luxurious bedroom. The former graverobber laid the singer gently on the bed and closed the door silently, only to be met by the large-eyed stare of the young woman he'd met in the graveyard. "So, you wanna tell me what's going on or am I gonna have to play the guessing game with you again?" It was more of a demand than a question and he knew she wouldn't like the answer, but she'd probably already guessed some of it, if not all of it. He sighed in defeat.

"I was hoping that I could sort this all out sooner, but here it goes: I have feelings for Lissy. Very strong feelings, but I also have them for you too." He cringed slightly at seeing her jaw drop. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know how either of you felt. She just seems to want to be friends and as for you; I can't read you like I used to, so I don't know how you feel." He ran a hand over his hair and let it out of its ponytail. "I just don't know what to do right now, Kid." Shilo was so moved by what he'd said that she couldn't help herself as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, which she had never done before. The gesture left him stunned.

"Does that give you any kind if inkling as to how I feel about you, Graves?" she asked him stepping back.

"It does, but I wanna see how Lissy feels before I make any sort of decision. Plus, we need to find out who's trying to kill her." He put his hair back into a ponytail and extended a hand to her. "In the meantime, let's go finish this party." Hand in hand, they went back down to the lobby.


	7. two kisses

Her head was pounding to the beat of ancient tribal drums. Cautiously she pried one eye open, when her head did not explode she slowly raised the other. The first thing she noticed was she was not at home, which confused her enough to worsen the exotic beat in her temple. Lissy clutched her head and let it fall back to the pillow.

"It's called a hang over." Terrance told her from somewhere near by.

"I'm not stupid," she growled.

"I'd say you are. What were you thinking?"

"You are really going to start lecturing me now...dad?"

"Right, just because I care about you I get the sarcasm and the anger. You worried the hell out of me and Shilo."

"Maybe the two of you should go off and get a room and leave my life alone! I was invited to the damn party and every one else there was drunk. Why not me?"

"Because I don't give a shit about every one else there, and because you have never shown any interest in being so before. Why now?" He hadn't moved any closer, Lissy didn't bother to turn her head and look at him.

"Because I can, I'm not a child who's hand you need to hold. Why don't you go spend your attentions on someone who you can boss around...like Shilo. You pedophile."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The next time you decide to make out with a kid more than ten years your junior...make sure you're alone." Fuck! Terrance wanted to drop dead right there. He had thought Lissy inebriated enough to not know what was going on. She had seen Shilo kiss him, and he had kissed the kid back.

"Lissy..." he reached out a hand for her. She slapped at him, still off kilter, she missed and ended up slapping air.

"Don't you Lissy me, you bastard." she tried sitting again, moaned, and swung her feet over the side of the bed. "The only person you have ever cared about is yourself, so leave me alone."

"If you would take a moment to remove your head from your ass, maybe you'd remember that just a few months ago I asked you to be my girl. It was you who turned me down. Am I supposed to sit contentedly by, twiddling my thumbs, until you decide weather or not I'm good enough for you? Yeah, I kissed Shilo...and she loved it!" Lissy's hand shot out, striking him across the cheek.

"I don't give a flying fuck who you kiss! That's right I'm not your girl, and I never will be. You will never be good enough for me! You're nothing but a drug dealing murdering scum!" Terrance was shocked, not by what she said... he knew she didn't mean it, but by the force with which she had slapped him. There had to be so much confusion and passion in that tiny body, Lissy was overflowing.

Lissy stood, swayed, and took a step. She wasn't going to suffer his presence a moment longer than she had to. His hands were on her solders and he spun her around. She looked up at him in shock, mouth open to tell him not to touch her. She didn't have a chance to say a single word; his lips were on hers in the next second.  
>It was a hard demanding kiss. He was daring her with his lips to answer his unspoken question. Did she really care? He knew enough about women by now to know they never said what they meant when they were angry. Lissy's harsh words were as good as a love balled to his ears. 'Do you love me?' His kissed asked.<br>Her open mouth and sweet seeking tongue answered for her... YES!

While she was helping the GENterns and other GeneCo staff clean up the remnants of the lobby party, Shilo had sent Terrance upstairs to check on Lissy to make sure she was alright. That had been over an hour ago and he should have been back down by now since she was about to lock up the tower for the night so everyone could go home and get some semblance of sleep.

"Trinity?" She signaled her secretary over to her. She was dressed in a modest dark blue dress that hung to her knees and matching two-inch heels. "Take Ariel with you and tell everyone who's left in the building to go home. I'm going up to my office for something then I'll lock everything up. Just call me when you're done." The black-haired woman gathered up another GENtern with chin-length red hair in a dark yellow pants suit and black modest heels, and they went about their assigned task as Shilo got in the elevator and pressed the button for her floor. The ride up seemed to take forever for some reason this time; probably because she wasn't sure about what she'd find when she got to her office. Her stomach started to get butterflies as the doors opened at the top floor and she keyed open her door, only to hear what sounded like a fight going on in the bedroom. The young woman stepped to the oak door and was about to turn the steel knob when the noise suddenly ceased like a vacuum had been created and sucked all the sound out of the room. She pressed an ear to the wood for a moment then opened the door just enough to see into it and her jaw dropped at what she saw or could see through the small sliver.

There, in the dim light of her spare room in her office, were Terrance and Lissy lip-locked in what could only be described as a fiery passion that had been suppressed for far too long. His muscular arms were wrapped around the singer's shoulders while hers were wrapped around his waist and they held each other like they were the only people in this sick and twisted world. Knowing full well what was more than likely to happen, Shilo quietly closed the door with a silent click, picked some papers up off her desk, turned the lights off, locked her office, and proceeded silently down the hall to the elevator. Her wrist-com went off as she pushed the button for the lobby and she answered in a dead voice,

"Yes Trinity?"

"Miss Shilo? Ariel and I have finished getting everyone on their way home and are leaving ourselves."

"Thank you Trinity and tell Ariel thank you from me as well. Good night."

"Good night, Miss Shilo," and Shilo cut the link as the elevator opened on the ground floor. The only lights on were the running lights in the lobby as the young CEO set the alarm system she'd installed to alert her to break-ins and locked the glass doors behind her. Before climbing into the black limo that Rotti had apparently left to her "just in case she needed it," she took one last look back at the tower that was now her living legacy and let out a sigh as she got into the car and the driver took her to her home.

Shilo had kept her parents' home, despite the memories it held for her, as well as the family tomb that now housed both her mother and father, granted there wasn't much left of Nathan after the Genetic Opera; just the ashes that she'd managed to snatch from GeneCo's crematories, but it was better than nothing at all. The driver dropped her off at the entrance to the tomb and drove off, knowing that the kid would be alright on her own. She was about to go inside, but looked at the graveyard that was still across from her house; the one she had first met Graverobber in; the night she'd encountered the Repo Man: her own father. If she listened hard enough, she could hear the song that mysterious man had been singing that night as he harvested those corpses. She could even see herself following Graverobber, running from the GeneCops into the massive grave to hid from them while he continued his song and his "job."

Unable to bear the pain of those memories after what she'd seen, Shilo turned angrily to go inside through the tunnel she used to sneak out through every night to catch bugs. Pushing open the hidden door in the wall, she bolted up the stairs into her room that was still at the end of the hall, but vastly redone. Gone were the various medical machines that she had been hooked up to for most of her life to make the room look more spacious and she had torn down the plastic wrap that was around her bed; a bed that she had, on more than one occasion, wanted to share with Graverobber, but she knew now that would never happen. Putting her office papers on her desk and not even bothering to change her clothes, Shilo Wallace collapsed onto the new inky purple comforter and cried herself silently to sleep.


End file.
